Shanique Meighan Speaks Out After Being Released from Prison

Last week, we reported on the detention of Shanique Meighan, sister of Ellis, Tyrone and Shaquille Meighan, all of whom are known to the law. Her older sibling, Ellis, is wanted in connection with the murder of Roy Burgess in Placencia. Reports are that on Wednesday, April seventeenth, police entered the home of Shelly Meighan, where her daughter had been socializing and conducted a search. After the police left the premises, Meighan arranged a ride with a friend and left her mother’s house. Shortly after, she was picked up by police and detained, allegedly under the SOE, and sent to prison the following day. On Thursday, Meighan was released from prison and returned home. While she has declined an interview, she has released a statement detailing her experience. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with that report.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Shanique Meighan recounted the events surrounding her detention and alleges that the ordeal began after police entered her mother, Shelly Meighan’s house, to conduct a search. According to the family, police were unable to find anything illegal and left the premises. Shortly after, Shanique Meighan would arrange for a friend to pick her up. However, the companions would not get very far as they were quickly approached by the police and told to pull the vehicle over. In a statement from Meighan, she said, “After we complied, they informed us they were conducting a search. Despite finding nothing illegal, the officers pressured me to disclose our destination. They threatened to detain me under the state of emergency and even implicated me in a murder investigation if I wouldn’t reveal my brothers’ whereabouts. They handcuffed me at the roadside and transported us directly to the Queen Street police station.”

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Meighan claims that after arriving at the station, she was denied the right to make a phone call and placed in a cell, while her companions were taken to a separate area for questioning. This interrogation allegedly lasted for five to six hours before they were brought back to the general area of the station. She said that after spending the night with no outside contact, her friends were taken for another round of questioning. After which she was transported to the Belize Central Prison.

 

Meighan went on to say, “About ten minutes before it was time to go up for the state of emergency, they took me behind the station. There, they handed me some paperwork but offered no explanation. I was then placed on a bus with only male prisoners for transport.… Upon arrival at the prison, I was handcuffed and subjected to a strip search. They processed me as an inmate, even taking my picture. Without explanation, I was placed directly in solitary confinement, a poorly ventilated cell they referred to as “the ice holder.” I was threatened with remaining there for the entire state of emergency. My meager provisions consisted of a single piece of bread, some water, a malfunctioning toilet, and a mattress. The oppressive heat made the ill-fitting orange jumpsuit unbearable.  Despite my detention, I was denied a phone call and any change of clothes.” Meighan also claims that it was only after another prisoner caused a disturbance and needed to be placed in solitary confinement, that she was moved and allowed to stay with the other female inmates. She said that her cell did not have a working toilet and she was made to wear handcuffs every time she wanted to use the bathroom or shower. Meighan’s mother claims that she had sent a bag of clothes to the prison for her daughter to change into after receiving permission to do so. However, she claims that she never received these clothes and instead had to wash the undergarments she arrived in. She concluded her statement by saying, “My lawyer’s initial attempt to see me was denied. Finally, around nine p.m. the night before, they informed me they were preparing for my possible release…GI3 officers arrived at the prison with a revocation order from the Minister of Police, indicating the state of emergency order under my name was lifted. They released me and simply dropped me off at home, still wearing the same clothes I was arrested in…This experience raises questions about the absence of support from the Special Envoy for Women and the Minister of Human Development during this ordeal.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.